This blog provides delicious,traditional, vegetarian, South Indian Recipes from my mother Chitra Amma's kitchen. There are few 'world recipes' as well!
Thanks to Shravan, Pranav, Akash, Tara, Guggs, Shankari, Adu, Dhrithi, and Appa Ramachandran for the photos!

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Sunday, December 30, 2018

The long awaited season is here! The all-encompassing aroma of Avrekaalu / Field Beans hangs thick in the air. Every home is churning out Avarekai dishes to celebrate the season. Hitukavare or Hitukubele is a delicacy and is a connoisseur's delight. Field beans is soaked and then squeezed out or pinched one at a time and the 'raw lentil' thus obtained is called Hitukavare or Hitukubele. Here is a recipe for a hot and spicy Hitukavare Masala which is an ideal dish suitable for winter. Tastes delicious on a golden toast.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Marzipan is usually prepared by kneading together powdered almond and sugar until it reaches a play dough consistency. The sweet dough can be shaped into any shape like small marzipan animals or fruits. Addition of the required food colours make them more attractive. Some times cashew nuts, soy, semolina and other nuts are also used in the making of the sweet treat. Today I tried making Marzipan using Pottu Kadalai - Roasted Gram. Since Pottu Kadalai is a dry ingredient a little quantity of melted butter or olive oil had to be used for binding.

INGREDIENTS

Pottu Kadalai/ Roasted Gram - 1 cup

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder or any essence of your choice for flavouring

Melted butter or Olive oil - as required

Rainbow sugar balls - for decoration

METHOD

1. Dry grind Pottu Kadalai/ Roasted Gram into a smooth powder.

2. Grind sugar into a smooth powder.

3. Blend the powders, two table spoons of melted butter/olive oil and essence/cardamom powder together in a mixer.

4. Take the blended mixture in a bowl and knead thoroughly into a soft and smooth dough adding more butter / olive oil if required.

5. Pat the kneaded dough into a tray and refrigerate until the marzipan becomes firm.

6. Take out the set marzipan on a plate and cut it into desired shapes.

7. Marzipan can be made to look attractive by shaping it like cookies and showering the 'Marzipan Cookies' with rainbow sugar balls.

8. Keep them refrigerated and enjoy the chilled sweets with children and family.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

PAVAKKAI GOJJU
A combination of Gojju and steaming hot rice topped with a spoon of ghee is one of the best finger-licking meals suitable for a cold day. Pavakkai/Bitter gourd activates the digestive juices resulting in good digestion. Ginger, chillies, sesame seeds and tamarind used in its preparation have heat generating properties which are important for improving metabolism and keeping the body warm. The spice, the tang and the sweetness of jaggery help to camouflage the bitter taste of the healthy vegetable.

9. Stir fry for five minutes and then add the tamarind juice, salt, sambar powder and powdered jaggery.

10. Cover and cook on medium heat till the gojju becomes thick emanating a very pleasant aroma.
11. See that the vegetable is cooked and then add the roasted and powdered sesame seeds.

12. If you do not need a very thick gravy, make a paste with one teaspoon of rice flour and water and blend it into the gojju while still watery as soon as the vegetable is done.
Enjoy the bitter- sweet, spicy - sour Pavakkai Gojju with rice or relish it with dosas or chapaties.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Ellu or Sesame seeds provide heat and energy to the body and are a power house of nutrition according to Ayurveda. They are rich in calcium and zinc which are necessary to boost bone health. It is a custom to give Ellu Urundai/ Sesame Laddus to girls going through puberty.The calcium rich Ellu strengthens their bones and prevents osteoporosis. Ellu Podi or Sesame Powder savoured with a spoon of sesame oil tastes delicious with Idlies and Dosas.

Ellorai is a traditional dish which has been an offering to the deities at ancient temples since time immemorial. It is a delicious rice prepared by mixing the Ellu Podi with cooked rice. Enjoy the delicious heat generating foods prepared with Ellu/Sesame this winter.

2. When the dal becomes light golden in colour emanating a very pleasant aroma add the black sesame seeds.

3. Switch off flame and keep stirring till the seeds pop in the hot pan.

4. Allow to cool and then blend the roasted ingredients together with salt into a slightly coarse powder. One or two swishes in the blender will be sufficient. Grinding for too long will extract oil from the sesame seeds.

Ellu Podi/ Sesame Seeds Powder is ready to use. Store the powder in a clean dry bottle after it cools down.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

The youngsters in my family relish noodles very much. Whenever they have a craving for noodles or any other food they fancy for that matter, they readily order their favourites online. One fine day I decided to try my hand at making their favourite noodles at home, but of course with a South Indian touch. After much pondering the thought of combining noodles with any of the South Indian gravies seemed infeasible. I remembered about Vegetable Dalna - a traditional Vegetarian Bengali recipe which I thought would probably suit my need of the hour. That is when Vegetable Noodle Dalna - a fusion of Bengali and Italian cuisine was born in my kitchen.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Whether it is a wedding or a Deepavali celebration Mundiri Paruppu Nokkal or sugar coated cashew holds a very special place among various other delicacies. I have already posted the recipe of Nokkal for Deepavali in the year 2009. Posting the recipe of Nokkal once again, but this time it is with a chocolate coating. Indulge in these chocolaty nuts and enjoy the Deepavali season.

INGREDIENTS

Whole Cashew Nuts - 2 cups

Sugar - 2 cups

Cocoa powder - 2 heaped table spoons

Lime juice - 1 tsp (to prevent crystallization of sugar syrup)

Crystal salt - 1 pinch (to enhance the taste)

Olive oil or ghee - 1 tbsp

METHOD

1. Fry the whole cashew nuts in olive oil/ghee stirring them continuously on low flame till they become golden in colour.

2. Remove the golden roasted nuts into a wide mouthed vessel.

3. Dissolve sugar in two cups of water and set it on medium flame.

4. Mix cocoa powder thoroughly in 1/4 cup of warm water and add it to the sugar water.

5. Add lime juice and salt and cook the syrup till it becomes sticky and reaches one thread consistency.

6. Take a ladle of the syrup and pour over the roasted nuts and stir well.

7. Switch off flame and pour another ladle of the hot syrup all over the nuts once again. This will give a second coating to the nuts.

Keep adding the warm syrup little by little and keep stirring the nuts so that they are coated well with the chocolate syrup.

8. Do not worry if the nuts tend to clump up together. Allow the clumps to cool down a little.

9. Gently separate them one by one by using a knife or a spoon and let them dry on a plate.

Store the Mundiri Paruppu Chocolate Nokkal in a clean and dry jar if you are still left with some! I found that half of them had disappeared while I was still in between the 8th and 9th step!

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

PAYASAM FOR NAVARATRI
Offering Payasam as Neivedyam is an integral part of Deity worship. Different types of Payasams are prepared by cooking different grains in milk or coconut milk and sweetened with jaggery or sugar. Some Payasams are better left plain while some others are garnished with dry fruits and nuts. Goddess Shakti is offered a Payasam a day on all days of Navaratri along with the Maha Neivedyam/the main food offering. Here are recipes for two Payasams which can be prepared for the celebration. The first one is called Kaadaikanni Payasam in Tamil and Tokkegodhi Payasa in Kannada. Kaadaikanni and Tokkegodhi are the not so familiar Tamil and Kannada words which mean Oats. The second one is Samba Godumai Rava Payasam (Tamil) or Godhi Tari Payasa ( Kannada) meaning Broken Wheat Porridge.

1. Soak the saffron strands in one tablespoon of warm milk and keep aside.
2. Heat one teaspoon of ghee and roast the oats till the colour changes.
3. Add milk and cook till the oats become soft.
4. Add powdered jaggery and cook till it melts and blends with the cooked oats emanating a very pleasant aroma.
5. Add the soaked saffron strands along with the milk.
6. Mix in the cardamom powder.

7. Heat the remaining ghee and fry the cashew nuts to a golden colour, add the raisins and roast till they bloat.
8. Garnish the thick Kaadaikanni Payasam with the ghee fried nuts and raisins.

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Lalitha Sahasranama is a very ancient Sanskrit Hymn in praise of Mother Goddess and it is religiously recited by Her devotees during Navaratri Pooja. It consists of Her thousand beautiful names which describe Her various attributes including Her favourite foods. The line 'Gudanna preeta manasa' in the Stotra / Hymn describes her as 'The One who loves rice mixed with jaggery'. Offering Gudanna to Mother Goddess during Navaratri is considered very auspicious. Likewise another line describes Her as 'Haridraannaika Rasika' meaning 'The One who relishes turmeric or yellow rice'. Chitranna or Lemon Rice with its auspicious yellow colour rendered by the use of turmeric powder is one of the Maha Neivedyams offered to Her. Here are the recipes for two of the traditional Maha Neivedyams (main food offerings) offered to the Goddess during Navaratri.

GUDANNAM / JAGGERY RICE

INGREDIENTS

Rice - 1 cup

Powdered jaggery - 1 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsps

Cardamom and edible camphor ( Powdered together) - 1 pinch

METHOD

1. Wash and soak rice for fifteen minutes and drain.

2. Heat one tbsp of ghee in a kadai and fry the drained rice till dry.

3. Add three cups of water and allow the rice to cook on low flame.

4. Add powdered jaggery when some water is still left in the cooked rice.

5. Cook till the jaggery syrup thickens and coats each and every grain of the cooked rice.

6. Stir in the powdered cardamom and edible camphor.

7. Add the remaining ghee and switch off flame.

Offer it to Devi and enjoy the prasadam.

CHITRANNA / LEMON RICE

INGREDIENTS

Rice - 1 cup

Juice of 1 lime

Salt - 1 tsp

Sesame oil - 2 tbsps

Mustard seeds - 1 pinch

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Black gram dal - 1/4 tsp

Bengal gram dal - 1/4 tsp

Peanuts - 2 tbsps

Red chillies ( broken) - 2

Curry leaves - a few

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

METHOD

1. Pressure cook rice with two cups of water and allow to cool.

2. Spread the cooked rice on a deep plate (tambalam) and fluff it up to remove lumps.

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Tondekayi / Ivy gourd is one of the vegetables I cook very often not only because of its various health benefits but also because the little gourds taste splendid in curries, chutneys, pickles and fries. Tondekayi Tomato Masale Gojju - today's lunch special - is a spicy finger licking Ivy Gourd gravy which pairs very well with all types of rotis.

Thursday, September 6, 2018

I am happy to announce that Chitra Amma's Kitchen has crossed another milestone in its journey as a Food blog. Amidst various other preoccupations at the home front, the blogger in me has had a very creative and productive phase in the last few months.

Aval Kitchen - a Tamil monthly magazine - has featured four Karnataka Recipes by Chitra Amma in their June issue. Here is the link.

The food pictures and the cooking videos shot by Pranav Calapatti published in the digital version of Aval Kitchen were highly appreciated.

Secondly Chitra Amma's Kitchen has won the 'Top Ten Versatile Food Blogs Award' for the year 2018 instituted by Bonusapp.in. The special effort gone into creating the award certificate and the poster is highly laudable.

Last but not the least I am overwhelmed by the mails and messages of appreciation that have been pouring in since then! Thank you for the continued support and encouragement you have been giving to Chitra Amma's Kitchen. It is the interaction with my well wishers that inspires me to continue blogging.

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Hello

Welcome to Chitra Amma's Kitchen.

I am Dibs. I am a born Foodie. I love to cook; love to eat; love to feed folks who appreciate good food. Blogging provides me a great way of documenting my mother, Chitra’s recipes, as a ready reference irrespective which time zone I live in. Amma honestly makes the best food I've ever had, and somehow, the anecdotes she tells us, make the dishes taste all the better.Most posts here are written by my mother Chitra. It’s her recipes, along with related reminiscences of people, places and anecdotes. She writes, I post!What started for a lark, has now become a serious hobby, drawing in participation from the whole family. My father, S.R. Ramachandran has started clicking away every dish made at home! Aunts, cousins, siblings, contribute to photos, and ask for recipes.We try to illustrate implements such as utensils, grinding stones and so on from the ‘pre-electric-mixer’ days wherever possible. We hope this will make an interesting read for future generations, on how food was cooked in earlier times!The site is still in its infancy, and slowly evolving, as our skills improve! We invite your comments, ideas, and questions, and will attempt answering them.

Thank you for your visit, and we hope you enjoy your stay at Chitra Amma’s Kitchen.